Dancer Amy Dowden has revealed that she's experienced up to five "blackouts" a day due to a health issue. Amy, 34 - best known for being on Strictly Come Dancing - has raised awareness of Crohn's disease over the years. She's shared that she was diagnosed with condition, which is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), aged 19 but had experienced symptoms for years prior. She's opened up about the impact of Crohn's disease whilst a guest on the Monday Mile podcast, hosted by Aimee Fuller. Amy said that she's "trying her best to break down the stigma" and shared symptoms that she has experienced. She said that they include "severe" vomiting, constipation and "excruciating" pain that can cause her to "pass out".
Amy said: "If you think, a woman is designed for childbirth and you don't pass out during childbirth. When I have Crohn's flare-up, I can have like four to five blackouts because the pain is that much my body can't control [it].". She continued: "I get swollen eyes, inflammation to y'know my joints [and] my skin. But I'm very, very lucky that I work with the most incredible team and a lot of my severe symptoms are now under control and in remission.".
The guest however added: "But unfortunately Crohn's disease is a chronic illness so an illness I will live with for the rest of my life." Amy went on to suggest that the condition is overshadowed by her cancer diagnosis. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023 and announced last year that following treatment there was "no evidence of disease". She said: "Strangely now, since my cancer disease, people forget [that I have Crohn's]. Not forget but [people are like] 'how's your cancer?' [...] The cancer has taken the forefront but no I still wanna campaign as well for Crohn's disease. It doesn't get the coverage or the understanding.".
Elsewhere in the episode, Amy stated that her experience with Crohn's disease helped her get through cancer treatment. She said: "In order to survive, I've had to grit my teeth. And I think because of the age of 11 starting to suffer with Crohn's disease. Y'know long hospital stays, severe, excruciating pain. "I guess I was able to like use that throughout my cancer treatment. I was used to long hospital stays, tests, pain, having my dancing taken away from me. So in an awful experience of a cancer diagnosis, I had experience of having to dig deep and get through something. And I used the tools that I've developed throughout my Crohn's disease to get me through my cancer diagnosis.".
